We’ll get you online!

These days, it has become clearer than ever that Washington is out of touch with the rest of America. This could not be more evident than with the new Common Core education standards.

These Common Core standards started as just an idea when they were adopted by Missouri in 2010, but they have evolved into much more. Originally promoted as state-based education standards, Common Core is

Most people know that when you have dug yourself into a hole, the first thing you do is stop digging. Unfortunately, this kind of common sense has escaped many in Washington. Currently, the federal government owns over a quarter of all land in the United States. This is far more land than it is able to maintain; the National Park Service alone has a maintenance backlog

A wise person once said, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.” Well, if you look at the current approach of not enforcing our laws, not securing our borders, and ignoring the will of the people, it is nothing short of insanity. Unfortunately, this is the approach we have come to expect out of the Obama

I’ve often said, “You can’t fix a leaky faucet with the water still running.” That’s not only good advice in your kitchen, but the same principle holds true for immigration reform and dealing with the current situation at our southwestern border. We’ve seen more than 50,000 unaccompanied alien children have crossed into the U.S. in recent months.

I always hear stories about how government bureaucrats are becoming increasingly aggressive. Our out-of-control government is putting the squeeze on Missouri’s middle class, and the biggest bully of the bunch is the EPA.

You and I know there are already too many regulations on the books. But the EPA has more coming everyday with no end in sight.

Government overreach continues to be a problem under President Obama. In addition to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) land grab threatening Missouri property owners and livestock producers, there is ongoing duplication of federal programs at the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Last week, the House Small Business Committee I chair exposed the SBA’s experimentation with unproven programs that will detract from their core services intended to serve

Editor’s Note: This article was written on April 10 for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association weekly newsletter. On Saturday, a guest column was published for the St. Joseph News-Press by the Administrator for EPA Region 7, who repeats the egregious claim that the EPA is merely trying to be helpful to farmers.

In North Missouri, many people are farmers, ranchers, and livestock producers. Here, people rely